


We've All Got Places to Be

by flamefox428



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Bus Stop, F/F, Meet-Cute, kindness from a stranger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 16:13:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13344813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamefox428/pseuds/flamefox428
Summary: Emily is running late and the world is working against her. Luckily a kind stranger is willing to cut her some slack.





	We've All Got Places to Be

**Author's Note:**

> I love meet-cutes scenarios.

Emily stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the bus. She was supposed to be meeting a friend before class so they could go over notes for a test they were having. She was running a little later than she thought she’d be, and she shuffled restlessly as she waited. She hated being late for things, especially something this important.  

She was alone for the first little while, but then a girl had joined her at the stop. She looked a little older than her, and she was nicely dressed, so Emily figured she was on her way to work. She had on headphones and a scowl as she leaned against the bus stop pole, and despite her small stature she was intimidating. Emily had smiled politely at her in greeting when she had walked up, and the girl had merely quirked an eyebrow at her. Emily’s smile had faltered and she blushed, looking away before she could embarrass herself again. 

Emily rubbed her ticket between her fingers, anxiously checking her watch for the third time in 5 minutes. 9:34; the bus was two minutes late. Emily didn’t have time to be waiting around for a late bus. She had a class to get to and a test to pass if she hoped to pass this course. 

She figured she should probably text her friend to let her know she was running late. She swung her bag off a shoulder and fumbled with it for a moment as she tried to get her phone out of the front zipper. When she finally got the zipper open, her phone fell out and hit the ground, screen side down. She squeaked and dropped her stuff, kneeling to check her phone with bated breath. When she flipped it over, the screen was fine and she sighed in relief, standing back up. 

Apparently, the universe decided it hated her today, because at that moment a gust of wind floated by and scooped up the bus ticket she had dropped in her haste to check her phone. She leapt for it to grab it but just missed it as it fluttered to the ground and slipped through the grate in the storm drain.  

“ _Seriously?_ ” Emily whined, huffing and crossing her arms. This was just great, exactly what she needed right now. The perfect start to a perfect day. She scooped up her bag and began to dig through the pocket in search of another ticket. She had reminded herself the other day to get more, but couldn’t remember if she’d put them in her bag or not.  

The bus rounded the corner and was coming down the street, and Emily’s search through her bag turned a little more frantic. She checked every pocket and found no tickets. A vivid memory hit her of her placing the tickets in the dish by the door, her lazy self having full confidence that she would put them in her bag before she left. Which she hadn’t.  

“Great, just great,” Emily pouted to herself. “Now I’m going to be late and I’m going to miss my test and fail the class and drop out of college and have to scrubs tables at a diner or sweep chimneys or something for the rest of my life.” 

Sure, she was being a little dramatic, but the amount of pain she was in watching the bus pull up knowing she wouldn’t be getting on it was just ridiculous. She sighed and was about to text her friend to let her know she would be very late when a ticket was being waved before her eyes. The girl who had been waiting for the bus with her had pulled out a headphone and was offering Emily a ticket. Emily stared at it blankly and the girl rolled her eyes.  

“Come on kiddo, we’ve all got places to be,” she said, nudging Emily onto the bus. She dropped a ticket for Emily and herself into the machine, nodding at the driver in greeting. Emily was still a little confused, and the girl huffed and dodged around her, going to sit in an empty row. The bus rumbled to life and snapped Emily out of her daze. 

She moved to sit in the empty row in front of the girl, who had her headphones back in and was looking out the window. Emily hesitated for a moment before spinning in her seat and resting her arms on the seat back so she could look at the girl. The girl ignored her for a moment before sighing and pulling out a headphone.  

“Yes?” She asked in exasperation.  

“Thanks, that was really nice of you,” Emily said. “I’m Emily.”  

“Beca, don’t mention it,” Beca replied stiffly, moving to put her headphone in again before Emily stopped her. 

“Seriously though, thank you so much,” Emily insisted. “I have a test today and it’s a really important one and I can’t thank you enough for being so nice to a random college kid on the street.” 

“Seriously, it’s fine dude,” Beca insisted, looking a little uncomfortable. “Just a ticket.” 

“But it was so nice!” Emily pouted. “How can I repay you?” 

“You can leave me alone,” Beca said in an unamused tone. She moved to put her headphone back in before Emily stopped her again. 

“Seriously! Let me do something to repay you, you completely saved my ass,” Emily said. She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “How about coffee? You’re on your way to work, right? People with jobs love coffee!” 

Beca looked at her incredulously, as if she couldn’t quite believe Emily was real.  

“I’m an adult, not a different species,” Beca said, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. 

“That’s not the point,” Emily whined. “Do you like coffee or not?” 

“Yes,” Beca said simply. Emily smiled brightly and wiggled in her seat excitedly. 

“Great!” She said happily. “So, I can buy you a coffee to thank you for being so nice.”  

“Alright, alright, fine,” Beca said, now smiling for real.  

“So, tell me about yourself,” Emily said, pillowing her head on her crossed arms.  

“I’m 26,” Beca said after a moment of thought. Emily nodded and smiled, waiting for more, but apparently that was all Beca intended to share. When she realized this, her smile slipped into a confused frown.  

“Really? That’s it?” Emily said. “That’s your big story? That you’re 26? There’s a world of possibilities of what you could tell me and all I get is that you’re 26?”  

Beca just blinked at her, reminding Emily of a lazy cat.  

“Okay fine, I’ll start,” she said huffily. “I’m 22, I’m in my final year at Barden. My mom went there too. I love dogs, and cats, and all animals really, except raccoons. I mean they’re cute and all but they’re clever and they’re evolving and even though my friends don’t agree I know there’s going to be a whole Y2K thing but with raccoons because they’ll-” 

“I’m a music producer,” Beca interrupted. Emily smiled gratefully. She didn’t need to ruin the already questionable opinion Beca probably had of her. Her Y2K raccoon theory was saved until a person had reached at least tier 4 of friendship, not the kind of thing that she randomly told strangers. 

“That’s really cool,” Emily smiled. “What kind of stuff do you do?” 

Beca seemed pleased that Emily was genuinely interested in her work. She gave Emily an actual, genuine smile and began to tell her about her job and her boss, and all the things she did at work. They continued to make small talk throughout the ride, taking turns revealing things about themselves. As the bus got more crowded, Emily swung around the seat dividing them and sat next to Beca, settling back into the conversation. 

As they neared Barden, Beca held her hand out for Emily’s phone. Confused, Emily handed it over to her.  

“So you can get me that coffee,” Beca explained with a smirk, putting her number into Emily’s phone. 

“Oh, yeah of course,” Emily faltered, flustered by Beca’s easy confidence. “Anyway uh, this is me.”  

Emily awkwardly gestured to herself and the door multiple times before mentally face-palming as Beca laughed. 

“I’ll see you around, Emily,” Beca said with an easy smile as Emily moved to get off the bus. 

“I can’t wait,” Emily answered honestly, smiling as she stepped off. She sighed and swung her arms at her sides, thinking fondly of the time she’d just spent with Beca. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she checked it with a dreamy smile that quickly slipped off her face.  

“Oh shit! My test!”  

Emily would have to put aside time later to think about Beca. For now, she had test to ace and 5 minutes to get there. She laughed freely and clutched at her backpack straps, taking off across campus with a lingering smile on her face. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys have any prompts or ideas for fics you want to see you can hit me up at runningwithpadfoot.tumblr.com


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